Joe Miller is dead

Dateline: Thu 26 Aug 2010

A known contributor to Dem causes, Joe Miller, a gay man, has died. By his own hand.

Tragic.

Here is a portion of an email from a source:

"You've probably heard that Joe Miller died late last night. Joe was a controversial figure in the gay community---I'm sure you've heard of his travels and tribulations. He made lots of money and spread it around. Rumors about his lifestyle are rampant, and always hahve been. Yet, he was largely a recluse."

Again, tragic. I did not know the gentleman. Weigh in, people...

Comments

Tom Greenacres [unverified] said:

Gay men spread money and leave some to younger men, and it is called unnatural.

Straight men spread money and leave some to much younger women, and it is called a mid-life crisis.

As Joan would say, "Oh, please!"

2010-08-26 23:29:34

Joao Gonzalez [unverified] said:

JOE MILLER WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST MEN WHO EVER LIVED.

2010-08-27 05:56:30

Doug Ballard [unverified] said:

So sad he had so much pain that he thought suicide was his only way out. He had a good heart and we should all remember all the good he has done over the years. Do not condemn him for his business interests. We all will have to stand accountable and be judged one day, so do not cast a stone. I knew him when he had nothing and was a funloving youth in his twenties and I shall remember him and his laughter and his great smile and feel lucky to have had our paths crossed. May he finally find the peace he searched for over the years.

2010-08-29 12:32:56

Michael Sedberry [unverified] said:

I met Joe Miller at Dean Gardner and Greg Mankiller’s apartment in 1970. He was there to retrieve a high school boy named Kenny. I met Joe again at the DeJeVue. He was embroiled in a “poppers” turf war with Stan Berg creator of the Body Works.

Rumors said that Joe was involved with the Marion County Prosecutor and that he copied the formula for his “Quicksilver” “poppers” from chemical tests performed on confiscated amyl nitrate samples. The truth is he got the idea for “Quicksilver” from amyl nitrates, which were popular in the 1960's. In the 60's amyl nitrate was sold over the counter at drug stores. The FDA outlawed over the counter amyl nitrate. Elementary chemistry produced inexpensive Amyl Nitrite which got a user as high as the - by then - prescription “poppers.”

The notion that amyl nitrite could cause AIDS is not true. AIDS is caused by a virus. “Poppers” will cause your arteries and veins to open up. That is what causes the headache and high. Often people engaged in anonymous anal sex use “poppers,” drugs and booze. Those substances do not cause AIDS.

Joe Miller was a vain pursuer of youthful male beauty and a very private, good looking man. He was also very generous with his fortune. Perhaps he could not easily let go of the youthful beauty he enjoyed. We may never know.

Mike Sedberry,Redlands, CaliforniaAugust 29, 2010

2010-08-29 16:09:33

Juan Offhue [unverified] said:

I knew Joe as a kind and generous man who supported the arts, AIDS research and a number of other causes, and was deeply concerned about the environment. His death saddens me.

Poppers are something I don't know much about. Somebody had me sniff one at a Steve Miller concert in the 1970s, and I didn't care for it. The knowledge that their use contributed to people's deaths may have weighed upon Joe's mind enough that he decided to take his own life. As the previous commenter noted, we may never know.

2010-08-29 21:04:20

Tell The Truth [Member] said:

A poppers-wat with (the late( Stan berg? Laughed so hard I spit coffee. Hilarious, and ridiculous.

2010-08-30 08:38:21

Pi Man [unverified] said:

His company, PWD, was recently raided (last week) by the FEDS and the big brother meddling hammer came down on him. What a shame that the FEDS think they need to involve themselves with a product that has for decades been nothing more than a little fun. No one has ever died from using poppers alone. What a crock of crap. Shame on the FEDS and OBAMA for allowing it.

2010-08-30 23:55:46

Cordy [unverified] said:

I heard that his company was targeted...and also the feds have initiated the coverup of the death and that is why there has been a silence of it all..Not sure if it was suicide or made to look as such. Regardless, it is a tragic loss to all those who knew him...he was a great guy whether one agrees with how he made his living or not....alot of the negativity surrounding him was from jealousy...I am anxious to see how this story really unfolds and how they explain the HUSH of it all........the real story will come out, it will just take time.

2010-08-31 05:10:56

Art Fuggins [Member] said:

Now Joe's death is Obama's fault. Personally I think Hurricane Earl is Obama's fault. What else can we blame on Obama?

2010-08-31 15:27:27

pepper [unverified] said:

Joe was one of the nicest, most generous, most politically committed people I ever met. I loved the time I spent with him- he was entertaining, thoughtful , warm, open. He was a great board member ( I was on the SIECUS board with him) and he cared a lot about sex education. I can't believe he is gone. What a total shame. Some of you say he was a recluse- but that is not the guy I knew.

2010-09-01 00:43:26

what [unverified] said:

Its been days and even a google name search renders just one relevant hit (sic).

How can this remain so silent so long? Even the blogs report no data on the death circumstances or even location. . .

2010-09-01 03:19:08

Inquiring Mind [unverified] said:

"You've probably heard that Joe Miller died late last night."

Actually, no we haven't really heard anything about it. How is that he was a such prominent figure in the HIV prevention world and only one comment, by the a spokeswoman from Damien Center, has even briefly commented on it? Not an obit, not a memorial celebration, nothing. I get that he was controversial, but HIV organizations in Indy sure knew how he made his $$$ and they continued to have their hands out for his $$$. I would think the HIV Community who so willing take millions for his $$$ would be doing something to honor his life and contributions to their community. Why the cover up? Like Cordy, I am anxious to see how this comes out in the wash.

2010-09-02 13:26:38

Knew Joe [unverified] said:

Interesting posting of a settlement between Great Lakes Products and the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1994 that deals with GLP's export of banned substances:

http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr94/94-43557.html

The purpose of the Agreement and Order is to settle the staff's allegations that Great Lakes knowingly caused the export of certain banned hazardous products, namely volatile alkyl nitrites used for inhaling or otherwise introducing into the human body for euphoric or physical effects, in violation of sections 8 and 18 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA)

2010-09-02 16:41:06

popper [unverified] said:

This is a real tragedy but a win for all the anti-popper propagandists. It's sad that he felt suicide was his only route out of all of this.

http:://popperdude.blogspot.com

2010-09-06 19:41:41

John Lauritsen [unverified] said:

There is an extensive medical literature on poppers. They are extremely hazardous to the health. At present, the only tenable hypothesis for the occurrence of Kaposi's sarcoma among gay men is the use of poppers.

My co-author, the late Hank Wilson and I describe some of Joseph F. Miller's shady dealings in our book, Death Rush: Poppers & AIDS, which is free and online at: